A five member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa unanimously disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from holding public office in Panama Papers case.Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, who had headed the apex court’s implementation bench following its April 20 order on the Panama Papers case, announced that the larger bench had unanimously deemed PM Sharif unfit for holding office and would also order an accountability court to open references against him and his family, and other respondents.
Shortly after the order, the PM House issued a notification saying that Nawaz Sharif, despite having strong reservations on the SC’s verdict, has stepped down from his post as the premier. Reacting to the court’s order, a PML-N spokesperson said that the party will utilise all legal and constitutional means to contest the verdict. The judgement, announced shortly after 12pm, brings Sharif’s third term in power to an unceremonious end, roughly one year before the scheduled general elections which would have seen him become the first Pakistani prime minister to complete a full five-year term. It is unclear at the moment who will be appointed to take over the post till the next general elections, which are scheduled for 2018.The federal cabinet was dissolved after Nawaz Sharif relinquished his responsibilities as the prime minister of Pakistan. The judges ruled that Nawaz had been dishonest to the parliament and the courts in not disclosing his employment in the Dubai Based Capital FZE company in his 2013 nomination papers, and thus, could not be deemed fit for his office.The bench directed that the references should be filed with the accountability court Rawalpindi against Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, Hassan Nawaz, Captain Safdar and Ishaq Dar. A judgement on these references should be announced within six months, the judgment read. One judge will oversee the implementation of this order. A reference will also be filed against Ishaq Dar for owning assets beyond his resources. The judges commended and appreciated the hard work and efforts made by members of the JIT in preparing and filing a comprehensive and detailed report.The ruling party seems to have completely misunderstood the significance of the questions being raised in the Panama investigation. The decision will reshape the politics of the country and some circles are raising reservations on the decision. PML-N has accepted the decision with concerns. The deadlines given by the court for trial of the case and their monitoring by a judge would mean there might be further difficulties for Sharif family. In prevailing circumstances, there should not be any confrontation or tension as the country cannot afford it. The country needs complete unity and hopefully all players would realize this fact. Mian Nawaz Sharif should now pay full attention to his party and concentrate on keeping his party united. It has become the need of hour to start process of across the board accountability and it should not confine to an individual or a family.
